Roses
by EruSilverlee
Summary: One Shot Draco Malfoy reflects on aspect of his life after the death of a schoolmate.


_**Disclaimer: **_

I do not own Harry Potter. I do not own the characters used in this one shot. No attempt at profiting off of this fan-made on-shot has been or will be made.

_November 17/10 Edit: No major changes have been made, just a few spelling errors and sentences I thought served no purpose. _

_**Roses**_

It seemed to Draco that the whole school was crying over the loss of their beloved Ginny Weasley.

He had never been on friendly terms with the younger; girl the most they ever said to each other were muttered curses flung in the other's direction, or insults under their breath.

Nevertheless, Draco was disturbed by her sudden departure from the world of the living.

Her body had been found early that morning by the lake where she could often be seen in the early morning light. She was always down by the lake, sitting against a tree reading a book, or playing with Fang, Hagrid's cowardly dog. Draco had seen her out there most mornings, as he would often eat an early breakfast outside on the steps. The weather had never held Ginny back; in rain or shine, or even knee-deep snow, she would be out there, finding some way to amuse herself.

It hadn't been officially announced to the school what her cause of death had been, but Draco had heard a few of the teachers talking through their tears. They said that her body had shown no signs of ailment or pain in any way; her death had been quick. Her murderer had used the killing curse so it was likely that she'd had a few seconds to react before the curse was aimed her way. The look on her face had been one of fear and shock.

Draco had seen the curse used before.

He had been five and hadn't known what his father was doing. He had just stood by and watched as his father murdered their butler. Draco had thought the butler was sleeping, but he knew better than that now. His father was a Death Eater, a follower of the Dark Lord, and was now on the run from the Ministry.

The Great Hall was filled with mourning students, as well as parents who had flocked to the school when they had learned of Ginny's death.

Draco regarded the Weasley family with jealousy, though he felt bad for them. Ginny had been their only daughter and their only child, other than Percy, to ever receive excellent grades. Draco had heard of Percy's dispute with his family but he watched now as Percy appeared in the Great Hall and his family welcomed him with open arms.

Fred and George were crying, something Draco never thought he would ever see them do. Their girlfriends were crying too, in their boyfriends' arms. Ron was crying, surrounded by a crying Harry and a hysterical Hermione. Percy, also crying, was on the arm of his long-time girlfriend Penelope Clearwater, who had her head buried in Percy's shoulder. Draco looked at Ginny's two older brothers, Charlie and Bill. He had seen them only once before and didn't know who was who. The one with long hair wasn't crying loudly, but had tears rolling down his cheeks. The other looked too shocked to cry.

Draco then looked at Molly Weasley. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and she was sobbing. Arthur Weasley, who looked as if he had been crying, was now demanding to know what his daughter had done to deserve her ill fate. Ron was now being hugged by his mother, who pulled Harry and Hermione into the embrace.

Draco suddenly wished his own mother were there. He hadn't seen her or heard from her in months. He knew she wasn't with his father - she had secretly rejoiced when he had gone to Azkaban - but now that Lucius had escaped, Narcissa had disappeared. She had probably gone into hiding; Lucius had been an abusive husband. Narcissa had tried so hard to keep it from Draco, but then he had witnessed Lucius push his mother down the stairs. Draco had run to help his mother up, earning him two days without food or drink. His mother had visited him that night, and she told him not to worry about her. He had protested, but in the end, Narcissa had her way.

The tables in the great hall had been moved aside, apart from the staff table, on which a memorial had been set up dedicated to Ginny. A large picture of her had been set upright so that all in the hall could see it. She was smiling and wearing red and black boxer shorts with a black t-shirt. The whole school had seen her in those clothes on numerous occasions. She would wear them in the summer when she was out in the grounds. In the picture though, she was holding a brown teddy bear that looked old and worn, like she'd had it her entire life. Draco admitted silently to himself that he too had a stuffed toy from when he was an infant. His was a green dragon, though. His mother had given it to him and had skillfully kept it away from Lucius, who frowned on stuffed toys, saying they made a man weak.

There were many things that made a man weak according to Lucius: candy, stuffed toys, women, and almost anything else that could have ever been thought of as nice. For Draco's first birthday, Lucius had given him a dummy to practice his spells on when he was a little older. When he could read, Lucius gave him books on the Dark Arts. That was the way it had always gone. And every year, on his birthday, Narcissa would come into his room and give him a small gift of her own, always small so there was little chance of Lucius finding it. During the time he spent at Hogwarts, he would frequently receive little gifts of chocolates and sweets from his mother.

His parents' marriage had been arranged. Neither had loved each other; Narcissa had told him so one evening when Lucius was off on "business" and Narcissa was nursing a bruised wrist from one of her "falls". They never loved each other, and in fact, Narcissa had revealed that they didn't share a bed or chambers at night. She had her own wing which Lucius would not enter, and Lucius had a wing which no one would enter.

The Malfoy manor had been too big for one boy growing up alone. That was another thing Narcissa had said often, when the two of them were alone in the manor. She told him once that she had wanted more children, to keep her busy and happy – though Draco, she had said on more than one occasion, brought her all of the joy a woman could have - but she said that Lucius refused instantaneously. She had never mentioned it again.

Draco looked up at the staff table again. The picture was in a large gold frame which was set in the centre of the table. It was surrounded by bouquets of flowers of all different types. It was common knowledge that Ginny had loved flowers. Roses in particular. They made up most of the flowers on the table and the many of the flowers down by the lake where her body had been found.

Draco walked outside of the school and stood out on the steps. He looked over at a large maple tree where Ginny had been found. It was the same place she had so often sat reading or just relaxing in the sun. It was surrounded by many roses, all of them red. Draco sat down thinking to himself. Ginny Weasley was dead, murdered on the school grounds by someone whose identity was yet unknown. Whoever it was had escaped and was still on the loose. The Dark Lord was on the move: the attack on school grounds had signaled that. Maybe as a warning, or maybe just a small threat showing what Voldemort was capable of. Whatever Voldemort's intention was, whether it had been to cause pain, suffering, fear, or sadness, he had achieved it and much more.

Draco stood up remembering a conversation he had overheard Ginny having with a friend:

_Draco had been sitting against a tree, writing a Charms essay, when two voices caught his attention. It was Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood, and they were talking about roses, most likely because it was Valentine's Day._

_"I like pink roses the best," Luna said. "They're so pretty and delicate."_

_"Yeah," Ginny said. "I don't know why, but I don't like red roses. There is something about them that just plain bothers me. I don't know why, they just do. I like black roses the best."_

Draco walked towards the maple tree, conjuring up a bouquet of black roses as he went. He stopped in front of the maple tree and laid the roses at its base. He stood up straight and felt tears pricking in the corner of his eyes, but he didn't brush them away. Instead he let them fall freely down his face. He stared out at the lake and, for a brief second, thought he saw Ginny on the other side of the lake, smiling and holding a bouquet of black roses. He blinked and she disappeared.

Draco took one last look at the maple tree before turning and slowly heading back to the school. Draco let the tears fall.

_**Reviews and comments are always appreciated. **_


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